Black Friday 2011 is as much entertainment as actual shopping at Rivertown Crossings Mall

GRANDVILLE -- Leaning over the second-floor railing watching the controlled chaos below, Brandon Carney and Trenton Gannon -- both 16 and sporting a pair of new "lids" -- were in good company at the Rivertown Crossings Mall on Friday morning.

The mall stores opened at midnight for Black Friday sales and the big anchor retailers like Macy's and Younkers were a buzz of activity. The only parking to be found was in the outer reaches of the lot, and the mall hallways were a clog of people.

At the Grandville Wal-Mart, which opened at 10 p.m., the atmosphere had been more hectic - some jostling for position and a report that a toddler was stepped on (although uninjured). However in Los Angeles, a suspect pepper-sprayed fellow shoppers to gain advantage, police say.

Some of those people were carrying bags. Many were not. And most of them were teenagers.

"There's a ton of children in here," said Tasha Takken, manning the Sunglass Hut. By 1:30 a.m., the store had sold about $400 worth of Oakley shades, which is $100 shy of the fine the mall would have imposed for not opening at midnight.

Downstairs at the European Spa Boutique, Tamara Orsland said she'd witnessed some "mischief" since the mall opened. "Babysitting," was how she described the scene in the hallways. Still, the amount of people at the mall surprised her.

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"It's a lot of boyfriends and Dads with huge armfuls," she said, some of them taking loads to the car and coming back for more. Still, she said she was surprised by the amount of bags she saw coming out of nearby Macy's. Fewer than she expected.

Several of the smaller, specialty retailers were slow. "We get to kind of sit back and watch the craziness," said Stride Rite baby clothing store manager Scott Vanderbeek. He'd done about five transactions in the first hour.

"Once we get closer to Christmas, there will be lines out the door," said Lisa Austin, manager on duty at Things Remembered personalized gifts. She had also done five medium-sized transactions in the first hour.

Upstairs at Trade Secret salon, the three people seeking hair styles that were turned away because no stylist was scheduled surprised manager Melissa Lattaie. The salon had considered just paying the fine for staying closed, but we're told by mall management they'd be hit with an hourly fee for not participating in Black Friday.

"If I'd known people wanted to get their hair done at midnight, I'd have scheduled somebody."

The food court was busy, as was the pretzel and coffee vendors. However, the wait staff at Olga's Kitchen were standing around, bored. Only a two-top and a five-top table had ordered food by 1 a.m. Later, though, by 3 a.m., the restaurant booths had filled-up considerably.

Next door at the locally-owned Toy Shelf store, owner Shirley Moore said she understood the mandatory open policy, but her store just can't compete with the big box retail deals.

"It's brought traffic, but not sales," she said. "I'm sure we'll get busy later in the day like last year."